Public excitement shows appetite for awaited IPP approval

Yesterday the DA Western Cape Committee Chairperson for Finance, Economic Development, and Tourism issued a statement welcoming Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe's agreement to engage on issues around the use of Independent Power Producers in the province.

Unfortunately, this was misinterpreted to mean that Minister Mantashe had agreed to our request to allow municipalities to purchase power from IPPs, which would go a long way to ensuring our energy security.

The obvious excitement this evoked showed just how much people want IPPs to be a part of the energy mix, and highlights the anxiety many ordinary South Africans feel about their energy future, in the face of both load shedding and climate change.

The Western Cape can play a positive role in helping South Africans secure their energy future. If the City of Cape Town and some of the province's municipalities directly contract with IPPs, this would alleviate some of the immense pressure that Eskom is currently experiencing and would give Eskom the opportunity to address its growing maintenance backlog.

This would be a win-win situation for everyone involved.

The integrated resource plan (IRP) determines the mix of electricity that the country requires. In this IRP there is an allocation that we believe can be procured by Western Cape Municipalities and the Metro without any National Treasury Guarantees.